Adopted for Glory (1 John 2:28-3:10)
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Good morning. My name is Spencer. I am one of the pastors here. So we care about knowing more of Christ. And one of the things, one of the language you use is spiritual formation, that we would grow to be more like Christ. We have, when you walk out that door over there, a bookcase.
It's called our Spiritual Formation Bookcase. All right, we just made this and it's got some resources in it. It's got a link to our virtual bookstore, which has some recommended reading on it. It's got some stuff for care and counseling. It's got some stuff for Roadmap, which is our kind of guide to home family discipleship. Just wanted to highlight one of the resources we have over there.
This is 10 Questions Every Teen Should Ask and Answer About Christianity. This is on the side where there's family discipleship. If you have teenagers, it's a really good resource. All right, if you have teenagers, as parents, both of you can read this together. It's helpful. We have some display copies that are over there, but you also can go online and purchase this.
But just wanted to point that out over there for you all to check that out. We'll continually rotate books over there because we want to be people that know more of Christ. And one of the ways that we pursue Him is through word and prayer and then looking at godly authors who have written things that we think are really helpful for our souls. We're going to be in 1 John today, chapter 2, verse 28, all the way through chapter 3, verse 10. So you can go ahead and turn there in your Bibles.
It's on page 592 in your Blue Bibles. You can also follow along on the screen with us. So I want to jump to the end of this passage because I want it to frame up where we are going today. So starting off in verse 10 of chapter 3, it says, This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are. Anyone who does not do what is right is not God's child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister. So it's another week in 1 John, another heavy passage that is a lot to work through.
And he comes out swinging here, differentiating that there are two categorical different groups of people. There are the children of God and the children of the devil. Now, if that's true, if the Bible speaks truthfully and authoritatively, and we as a church, we believe that. If this is true, then understanding where you land in that is one of the most important things you could ever possibly want to understand. It is incredibly important for us to understand this passage and what he is getting at. Like much of 1 John, he is really showing some identifying markers of what it means to be a Christian, and specifically today, what it means to be a child of God.
It's one of the main reasons we exist as a church, is to understand this, to understand what it means to be a child of God and all the benefits that come with that. We believe that being a child of God, being in the family of God, is better than everything else. So we want to know what this looks like. We want to see the unbelievable love and grace and mercy and joy and attainable peace that comes with being a child of God, pitted against what he shows here is belonging to the devil, which is a road that is lined with a lot of self-inflicting pain on a collision course with destruction. So, like much of 1 John, the text is heavy.
And in the midst of this, I don't want us to miss, as we self-reflect, as we look at some of the observations that he's going to make about these two different groups of people, as we look at this, I don't want us to just see what it is saying as a set of observations without missing that in the middle of all of this is an invitation. And it is an invitation into being in the family of God. And that invitation is sweet and it is good and it really is better than everything else. We believe that wholeheartedly. So I don't want us to miss that as we walk through this.
So let me pray as we prepare for this and then we will walk through this together. Lord, we love you. We thank you for your word. Even when it is hard to absorb, it is true and it is good. Lord, I pray that we would put down defenses that we have against this. I pray that we would be present.
You would speak to us. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we would respond. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. All right, so let's start off in verse 28.
It says, And now, dear children, continue in him so that when he appears, we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming. All right, so we've seen this over and over again in 1 John. He has this dear children, this dear friends kind of language. Remember, he is writing this letter to different churches. And John, being an apostle, has been a father to many of these Christians. A father in the faith.
And it's a term of affection. He says, dear children. He charges them, continue in him. This is continue in the faith. So that when he returns, he may stand confident and unashamed.
So the language there, and some of the language we're going to see today, is forward looking. This is when he returns. We take a step back from this. This is when Jesus comes. This is the second coming. When he comes to make all things new.
When he Judges heavens and the earth. When he Judges everything. And he establishes his kingdom. When all of this happens. When judgment day comes. He says, I'm writing you to stand firm in this.
So that you might stand firm in the confidence that Jesus provides. When I was in high school. No, I've mentioned this a few times. When I was in high school, I was a late bloomer. Did not hit my growth spurt until junior, senior year. So I was five foot tall coming into high school.
A hundred pounds. But, was feisty. Like, I didn't take anything off anybody. No matter how. You could outweigh me by a hundred pounds. And eight or nine inches.
I wasn't going to take anything off anyone. So that, I had a mighty mouse kind of heart. No way shows up today in any form or fashion. But, I had this position. But I also had a brain.
And I knew that if I ever got into something that was real. That being a hundred pounds less than somebody. Was not sufficient. For any type of defense. So I knew.
The people I rolled with. Was of great importance. And they were bigger. One of them. His dad owned a karate studio. So he knew karate.
Like, we'd spar with him. Throw punches at him. And he'd just deflect everything. That was huge. I knew that if we ever got into anything. I had guys that would back me up.
I could stand confident. That this is the picture that we're giving here. That when Christ is for us. We stand confident and unashamed. Confident. Because Jesus destroyed the power of death of the resurrection.
Unashamed. Because Jesus, when he went to the cross. He bore our sin and our shame. So on judgment day. We can point back to the work of Christ. And say, that's what my sin was paid for.
This eternal life that I'm entering into. Was conquered at the resurrection. I stand confident because Christ has my back. That's what he's saying. Stand confident. When that day comes.
This is where you stand. In the confidence that Christ offers. And then he continues in verse 29. He says, If you know that he is righteous. And that everyone who does what is right has been born of him. Since we're going to start to see as we work through this passage.
This differentiating. What the people of God look like. What the family of God looks like. Versus what sons and daughters of disobedience. Sons and daughters of the evil one look like. Now.
When you do a first reading of this. There's some tension. Within us. Because we bang the anthem of the Bible. That says that you are saved by grace through faith. It's not of your works.
If you've been in this church long enough. You've heard that over and over again. That we don't earn the favor of God through our good works. It is by faith. It's by grace. Like we will beat that drum.
Because the Bible beats that drum. And when you come upon a passage like this. It's like, wait a second. What? You've got to read it slowly. You've got to read it carefully.
Because what he is saying here. Is that everyone who does what is right. Has been born of him. Meaning. That faith. Proceeds action.
That being born of him. Proceeds. Doing. What is right. We can't miss. That order.
But that's what distinguishes being a child of God. You were born into the family of. God. Through faith in Jesus. And then what follows. Is right.
Action. Now. He's going to keep doing this. All right. We're shifting in chapter three now. He's going to keep doing this.
But he. For one verse. He needs to just pause and celebrate this good news. We saw this a little bit in chapter two. Chet spent a whole week on this. Where he's just.
Celebrating. The gospel. He does it right here in. Verse one of chapter three. He says. See what great love the father has.
Lavished on us. That we should be called. Children of God. God. And that is what we are. He's got exclamation points there for a reason.
I mean. He is. He can't. He can't help himself. This. This is what it means to be a child of God.
Now. This is what we're sitting in. Is the doctrine of adoption. Okay. The. The.
The. The first John teaches that the gospel of John teaches that we see in Ephesians to this idea that we are born into. Sin. That we are once sons and daughters of disobedience. Sort of Ephesians to the language of Ephesians to. But what happens is God and his rich mercy and his grace.
He rescues us and brings us into the family of God. By his love. By his grace. By his mercy. That we can choose to rebel against him. We can choose what is not good for us in this world.
But by his love he rescues us and brings us into the family of God. Scott Hill has been teaching in Sunday school. The book Gentle and Lowly. He's almost done with it. So many good quotes come from that book.
It's a brilliant work. That helps us understand the character of Jesus. I love what Dana Ortlund says. He says. That God is rich in mercy. Means that your regions of deepest shame and regret are not hotels.
Through which divine mercy passes. But homes in which divine mercy abides. You catch that? Like the areas of your life that you have so much regret over. The areas of our sinful nature. That grieve us the most.
Understanding the mercy of God. Is that it's not a hotel stay. And it has come in for a night or two or three. That it is a home that he abides in. He sets up shop in. And his mercy goes nowhere.
It is with us. He goes on to say. It means that the things about you that make you cringe the most. Make him hug the hardest. How good is that? The things that we don't want to look at.
The things that we are ashamed of. The things that make us cringe the most. Make God hug the hardest. He comes in and just hugs us. And says. I see it all.
And I still redeemed you. And I'm with you. And I'm for you. And he goes on to say. It means our haunting shame is not a problem for him. But the very thing he loves most to work with.
It means our sins do not cause his love to take a hit. Our sins cause his love to surge for all the more. All the sin. All the shame. All the brokenness. All the hurt.
His love surges forward all the more. And John just has to stop and celebrate that. That we are as children of God. Who he loves us because he loves us. Because he loves us. Because of his rich love and mercy.
Don't miss that. And then he continues with this difficult teaching. Picking up in the rest of verse 1. He says. The reason the world does not know us. Is that it did not know him.
Dear friends. Now we are the children of God. And what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears. We shall be like him. For we shall see him as he is.
All have this hope in him. Purify themselves. Just as he is pure. Everyone who sins breaks the law. In fact sin is lawlessness. And this is where I get into the nitty gritty.
Of what it means to be the children of God. And what he is going on to say. Is children of the devil. Two groups. Two distinguishing markers. And two end results.
That is the picture he is drawing. He is forward looking in this. When he says. We shall be like him. That we shall see him as he is. That is forward looking.
That is new heavens. New earth. That is the future resurrection. That we will be like him. We don't have categories of thought. What this is like.
But one day when all things are made new. We have a body that has no more sin. No more hurt. No more pain. That is a distant memory. And the picture there is purity.
Pure. Perfected. In. Cells. He says. That is what awaits us.
In the meantime. As we are preparing. For the glory that awaits us. He says. We purify ourselves. That we.
This is the language of repentance. That we are. Believing the gospel. We are preparing for that. That awaits us. Last weekend.
My wife and I got some really. Really good news. My brother-in-law called. And he said. Listen. Our family.
We get points to Disney World every year. They are Disney resorts. We had a plan. A vacation scheduled. December 12th. The 19th.
None of us can go. You want it? And I said. Absolutely. Yes. We have been saving for three years.
To go to Disney World. So we just. We have a trip. That was planned two years out. And we just. We moved it up.
So. Something you need to know. Actually. A couple of things you need to know. First. This is a surprise to my children.
Okay. So don't go run and tell them. That. Are you excited about Disney World? Because my wife. Will murder you.
Okay. The reason why. She will murder you. Is the second thing you need to know. My wife is a Disney. Believer.
She. Believes. In the magic. Of Disney. She grew up going there. Multiple times.
She's seen all the movies. Like. She. Believes. In the magic. She's all in on Disney.
And. I. Am not. I. I love. There's certain Pixar movies.
That are. I think are top notch. Up. It's like one of my. It's my top ten. Of all.
Movies. I got. I. There's certain things I love about Disney. The Marvel movies. They did a good job with that.
But. I really don't like the company. I just personally don't like the company. They bought ESPN. And they ruined ESPN. And I've always been upset about that.
Like. They just do things. Like. I just. I'm not. I'm not a fan of the company.
I don't believe in the magic. So. Right now. We're getting ready for Disney World. Last night. My wife brings a bag.
And she's like. Look. And she's got t-shirts made. Right. She's got t-shirts. Like.
It's. You know. I'm wearing t-shirts. The kids are wearing t-shirts. We're all wearing t-shirts. We're.
We're watching Disney movies. We are gearing up for the magic of Disney World. We're in this. Period. Like. I came home.
Last weekend. And. She's on a FaceTime call with her sister and her mom. And they. They. They know that I've got problems with Disney.
And they had a statement prepared. They were like. You will not ruin this for your children. You will. Believe in the magic. Like.
This will be your Disney healing experience. Because. I just like. Okay. Like. Listen.
I can put on. I'm not going to. I'm not going to ruin this for my kids. Like. I'm not going to go. And say.
Oh. You see. Winnie the Pooh. You see. I was wearing red. Commie.
Like. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not doing that. Like. I'm going to do what all dads do at Disney World.
And I'm just going to. You know. Put on a smile. And work through it all. And. You know.
Complain about the price of parking and food. Like. I'll do what every dad does. Like. I just chill out. Like.
But. There's a different. There's a difference in approach there. She's all in. She's all in. I'm like.
Yeah. This will be good. Good memories. Two of my children will not remember this. In the future. But.
It'll be good. Memories. Like. I'm. I'm. I'm for.
This. But. I'm not all in. There's a difference there. Listen. As Christians.
We are in. The period. Of preparation. Like. We are preparing. For an endless.
Amount of joy. We're. Preparing for. An eternity. With God. That is beautiful.
That is good. That is joyous. We believe them. But if you don't believe that. You're like. Eh.
You're not bought in. When he tells. When he says. Purify themselves. You're like. No.
I don't. No. Sin. Repent. No. You can even say.
That you're a Christian. But you just kind of go through the motions. Like. I'm going to do a dizzy world. It's like. Yeah.
Put on a face. Look nice on Sunday. In a group. But I actually. Like. Believe this.
Wholeheartedly. In a way that. If that's what awaits me. I'm in. And what. And I.
And I. I get a taste of that now. Through. Leading into the gospel. And believing that. Through repentance.
I get a piece of that now. I'm in. There's a difference. In approach. Between the children of God. And the children.
Of disobedience. That's hugely important. For us to understand. As we read these next few verses. He says in verse. Five.
But you know. That he appeared. So that. He might take away. Our sins. And in him.
Is no sin. No one who lives in him. Keeps on sinning. No one. Who continues to sin. Has either seen him.
Or known him. Catch that first part. He says. If you are a child of God. You. You know.
That he appears. They might take away. Your sins. Like you. Know this. Like you.
Believe this. Wholeheartedly. What that means is. Is that you. Understand that. And you have faith.
Like you. You understand. The cost. That it took. Like that. The literal picture there.
Is you understood the cost. Of what it means to follow Jesus. It cost the blood of God. It cost our murdered savior. On a cross. And if you get that.
If you believe that. If you understand. That cost. You will. Act. Accordingly.
Like that. That's. If you. Gave me. If one of you. Gave me.
An Aston Martin. Vanquish S. Which. Christmas list. You guys. If one of you.
Gave that to me. I understand. The cost. That's one of the most beautiful. Vehicles. That has been made.
In the last 20 years. Like I. Get that. Right. We bring that home. We have one parking spot.
In our garage. That my wife can drive. The swagger wagon into. I'm like. Listen. That's got to go.
The Aston Martin. Is on the inside now. Like when I go. To Walmart. I'm parking. In the back of the parking lot.
Not near anybody. You know what. I'm not going to Walmart. At all in that. Like I. Understand.
The cost. Of that. Gift. I act. Accordingly. When you've been.
Gifted. Jesus. In faith in him. By his. You get. You understand.
The cost. And it changes. The way you approach life. You take sin. Seriously. So he says.
Okay. But he says. No one who lives in him. Keeps on sinning. No one. Continues to sin.
And we touched on this a little bit. In week one. Thank you. Go in a weird direction. At that. If you want to just.
Post up in that. And take it. Out of context. Some people will say like that. Okay. Well that just means that one day you arrive.
At a state of sinlessness. At a state of Christian perfection. And it's just like. No. First off. The rest of the Bible.
Second off. No. Look at it. Read it. It says. Keeps on sinning.
Continues to sin. It's talking about a hard approach. That continues to go after this. I mean goodness. It's not like. John forgot the first two chapters.
In 1a. He says. If we say. We have no sin. We deceive ourselves. In 1.
In 1a. He says. If we say we have not sinned. We make him a liar. In 2a. He says.
I'm writing you these things. That you may not sin. But if anyone does sin. We have an advocate. With the father. Like he.
He understands. That we're broken. That we're sinful. But there's a difference. In your approach. In your trajectory.
In life. It is one that understands. The cost of sin. And does not continue. As. As.
As. As Paul says in Romans 6. 1. Should we continue in sin. That grace may abound. By no means.
Absolutely not. We. We get this. We understand the cost. And because of that. The approach of life.
The trajectory of life. Is one that repents of sin. Does not continue. And does not keep on. Sinning. So.
Goes to this. Then it gets into. Verse 7. Dear children. Not let anyone. Lead you astray.
Which we've talked about. In 1st John. That there are. Must have been people. In the. Just from the context.
You can look at. There are people. In the churches. At these times. That are stirring up. False teaching.
But it looks like here. As well. They're stirring up. Really wrong. Practice. There's some type of.
Stirring up. There's some kind of. Some lawlessness. Some sinfulness. That's just. Making its way.
Through the church. And he is saying. Don't let anyone. Lead you. Astray. The one who does.
What is right. Is righteous. Just as he is righteous. One who is not. The one who does. What is sinful.
Is of the devil. Because the devil. Has been sinning. From the beginning. The reason. The son of God.
Appeal. Was destroyed. The devil's work. No one who is born of God. Will continue to sin. Because.
God's seed. Remains in them. They cannot go on. Sinning. Because. They have been born.
Of God. He. He understands. What's happening. In these churches. And he just addresses it.
In some very black. And white. Length. He says. If you have been born of God. Okay.
That is. New birth. In Christ. That is. The seed of faith. The seed language.
The seed of faith. The Holy Spirit. Seals you. When. That. Happens.
Belief. Proceeds. Change. And the change. That comes out of that. Is one.
That takes. Sin. Seriously. It's the recognition. That. That if you're.
Dealing. And sin. You're dealing. And. I mean. The language.
Destroy the devil's work. Because if you get that. If you came. That's what. Jesus came to do. Is destroy the work.
Of the enemy. Why would we engage. In the things. Of the enemy. Why would we. Go back to that.
When he. Regenerates you. You actually. Change. Change. There's this deep.
Recognition. That has to happen. Here. The one. Who does. What is wrong.
Is of the devil. And it's this. And it's not. It's not. It's not. It's simple.
Just sins. And makes mistakes. But it's a. Pattern of. Not. Repenting of sin.
But one. That goes hard. After the things. Of this world. Is when you are. Sinning.
You're engaging. In this work. You're engaging. In the work. Of. The enemy.
He's been doing this. Since the beginning. In the garden. And if you do this. You're going back to. Or you're joining in.
With. His team. Now. That's difficult to receive. On multiple levels. First off.
It. It's. It seems intense. That you would ever. That anyone would ever be called. A child of Satan.
Like that just. I'm just going to be honest. Like that. That's a hard thing. To even read. That's a hard thing.
To receive. You probably have. Super negative connotations. Of self-righteous people. In the past. Who've thrown out.
Child of the devil. And child of Satan. That's just hard. To read. And absorb. And it's also hard.
To absorb this. Because we have. Habitual sin. We have habits. Of sin. In our life.
We all. Are messy. Sinners. In need of grace. We have habitual sin. And when you.
Read something. As blunt. As this. I mean. It sends you. To this Christian.
Existential crisis. That's like. Do I even believe this? Like. Am I even a child of God? Do I.
Do I. Get this? It's hard to receive. But. We need to receive. And understand.
What he is saying. And we need to see. The warning in it. When it. This. There should.
Be. Self-reflection. As we. Approach this. That if our lifestyle. He used language earlier.
Of lawlessness. And that's really. A. A spirit. Of lawlessness. That just.
Lack of restraint. From. The work of Christ. In your life. That there's this. Lawlessness.
There's this. Pattern of. Pursuing sin. Like. We. You need to.
Evaluate. Whether you believe. The gospel. Or not. And there's all kinds of examples. We've seen in first John.
We're going to continue to see in first John. For the one who. Claims to follow Christ. But is. Cold hearted. Towards.
Others. For the one who claims. To follow Christ. But there are. Hidden. Patterns.
Of. Sin. That we're not bringing. To the light. We saw that in first John one. For those.
Who claim to follow Christ. But look at teachings in the Bible. And say nope. I don't agree with that. Nope. Nope.
Nope. For those who follow Christ. As we're going to see. And we see in verse 10. And we're going to see. Throughout the rest of first John.
Have a lifestyle. Of not loving their brothers and sisters. Which there's all kinds of stuff. Bound up in that. There are those. That say.
Yeah. I'm a. I'm a. I'm a Christian. But I'm.
I don't like the church. I love Jesus. But not the church. And it's like. Yeah. I don't think you love Jesus.
Because if you understood. The gift of the church. How much he cares about the church. You wouldn't speak about the church. Like that. That's.
For those who are cold hearted. Towards Christians. That's those. Very practically. We're going to see. In the very next.
Passage. That close their wallets. Towards Christians. In need. If you. Have.
This. Lifestyle. Of pursuing sin. Of closing your heart. To those in need. You really should assess.
Where you are. Who you belong to. And the trajectory of your life. And where it's going. That reality. Should weigh upon us.
First John is very. Blunt here. If you. Have this. Pattern. Then you.
May very well be a child. Of the devil. You don't belong to him. And that. Listen. Difficult.
Observations. To absorb. Difficult. Teachings. To absorb. At times.
It's like. The sinful part of me. Is like. I'd rather just not. Touch certain passages. And go elsewhere.
There's a reason why we preach. Through books of the Bible. So we don't avoid the hard stuff. But don't miss. The. In the.
Difficulty. Of those observations. Is an invitation. Like it's not. Not just saying those things. And I got.
Bye. Like no. He is. Extending. An invitation. That invitation.
Is faith in Jesus. And entering into the family. Of God. Like God is. If you are here this morning. It's not by accident.
That God loves you. Deeply. He loves you so much. That he sent. Jesus. His son.
To be. Crucified. For you. So that you would experience. The endless joy of Christ. For eternity.
He loves you. Immensely. And wants you. Don't miss that. There's an invitation. Into.
The family. Of God. And it is good. Don't pass it up. Verse 10. We'll close it out.
He says. This is how we know. Who the children of God are. And who the children. Of the devil are. Anyone who does not do.
What is right. Is not God's child. Nor is anyone. Who does not love. Their brother. And sister.
Two groups. The children of God. Children of the devil. And the invitation is there. One of my professors. In seminary.
He had. They had three children. The old fashioned way. And they adopted. Six. Other kids.
They had nine kids. All together. So they had tons of time. On their hands. They. Those adoptions.
Were not. Sometimes you hear adoption stories. Like this. Those are group adoptions. Basically like four or five kids. At once.
These were all. Individual adoption stories. And. He told one story in particular. He. Someone connected him.
To a family. In Virginia. And. So he. Went to. Virginia.
There's. They're getting all the paperwork. Together. Together. And this. You know.
A lot of times. Generalizing. This is not. All situations. But a lot of these.
These situations. There's drugs involved. Or there's immense poverty. There's lots of reasons. That are in this. This is not one of them.
The dad was an FBI agent. This was a. Middle class family. They. There's no drugs. Problems involved.
They just didn't want their son. He's five years old. They didn't want him. I can't. Wrap my mind around it. They didn't want him.
So he. They do the paperwork. They get everything together. And he goes and visits. The child and the family. At his home.
And he sees. The boy. And he's. You know. He's five. But he didn't look five.
Which that's years of neglect. And not nourishment. They go up to his bedroom. He's still sleeping in a crib. At five years old. I mean just.
Immense neglect. And this family. Signs over. Writes their kids. And. They head on back to Kentucky.
And he said. The ride home. Was one of. It was. It was. Wow.
Because. They try to prepare you for. That when. When you're. A lot of these situations. Like.
Listen. These kids. Have attachments. Even bad parents. They're still parents. So they prepare you for.
Listen. Like. You know. This may take months. Years. There may be.
All kinds of things. You'd be ready for. That they might not just jump into. Your family. Like. It's just going to take.
Some time. This kid was not that. When that kid got in the car. He's like. Deuces. And just.
Left. Because he just started. Asking questions. He said. Hey. Alright.
So I'm a Stinson boy now. Right. His name is Stinson. Dr. Stinson. Yeah.
I'm a Stinson boy. Right. Okay. What are we like? What is Stinson boys like? He was like.
He's driving. He's like. What in the world? It's not his first adoption. He's like. Well.
We love baseball. He said. Baseball. I love baseball. I'm all. I'm all in on baseball.
I'm all in on baseball. I'm a Stinson boy now. And he did this. The ride back home. He's just investigating. What it means to be a Stinson boy.
And this kid. Is all in on that. Here's the deal. God. The father. The father.
Comes to us. In a neglected state. What we're born into. Isn't good. What we pursue outside of Christ. Isn't good.
He's. The enemy's not a good father. There's nothing good about that life. And he. He rescues us. And brings us into the family of God.
And we get to. Look at that. And say. Deuces. Come to the family of God. And say.
I want that. I'm in. I'm a Christian now. What does that mean? Tell me. What does it mean to be a Christian?
What. What. What is it? We. What do we do? We.
You got a book. A book about you. A book about. I'm in. I'm reading that. There.
We. Bear fruit. You talking about apples. Bananas. Spiritual fruit. Don't know what that is.
But I'm all in on that. Repenting of sin. Tell me what it is. We sing songs. We got our own albums. Let's do this.
Like we. Jump into. The family of God. And say. This. Is.
Is. Better. I want him. I don't want what I was. Saved from. I want the family that I was brought into.
God the father looks at us. And says. I. Want you. When you come into my. Family.
You will experience the endless. Joy. Of Christ. From the moment of rebirth. Into eternity. The invitation is there.
My hope is that we have the honesty. To reflect in our own hearts. And we accept the invitation. Matt's going to come up. And we're going to prepare for. The Lord's Supper.
And take communion together. This is a. A meal. For the family. Of God. And what that means for us.
As Christians. Is that we're real. We're real. Honest. About our brokenness. And our sin.
We don't shy away from that. We don't feel shame. Because that's been. Paid for at the cross. But we come to this meal.
As a meal of remembrance. That on the night. That Jesus was betrayed. He took bread. And he broke it. And he said.
This is my body. That was broken for you. That he took. The cup. That was the. Cup of the new covenant.
He said. This is my blood. That was shed for you. That as often as you eat. And drink this. You proclaim my death.
Until I return. So this is a meal of tension. We look back. To what Jesus has done. But we also look forward.
Until he returns. So take a moment.